196 A RAJPUT SOLDIER book III
his
accounts had been examined he entered his carriage accompanied by some
relatives who followed him, and as he had neither eaten nor drunk since
he had received the news, he died On the road, refusing to take any
food.
The
idolaters of India observe this custom, that when any one yawns they
crack their Angers, while crying out many times Ginarami,1
that is to say, remember Narami, who passes among the idolaters as a
great saint. This cracking of the fingers is done, it is said, to
prevent any evil spirit entering into the body of the yawner.
When
I was at Surat in the year 1653 one of the soldiers called Rajputs, who
had upon his horse two or three pieces of cloth, was brought before the
Governor to be made pay duty on them. The Räjput in a firm tone of
voice asked the Governor boldly, if a soldier who had served the
Emperor all his life ought to pay duty on two or three miserable pieces
of calico which were not worth more than 4 or 5 rupees, and were
intended to clothe his wife and children. The Governor, stung by this
protest, called him Bethico, that is to say, son of a strumpet,2
adding that even if he were a Prince he would make him pay the
Emperor's due. The soldier, exasperated by this abuse, made as though
to take out the money to pay what was demanded, and advancing towards
the Governor gave him seven or eight stabs with his dagger in the
stomach, from which he died, and the soldier was at once hacked to
pieces by the attendants.
Although
these idolaters are in the depths of blindness as to a knowledge of the
true God, that does not prevent them from leading in many respects,
according to nature, moral lives.3 When married they are rarely unfaithful to
1
Jai Näräyan ! a name of Vishnu, with the exclamatory prefix Jai !
signifying ' victory to '. The custom referred to is well known, its
object being to prevent evil spirits taking advantage of the
involuntarily open mouth in order to obtain an entrance into the body
of the yawner, or that his soul may not escape. See Crooke, Popular Religion and Folk-lore of N. India, i. 240 ; P. Saintyves [M. Nourry], l'Ëternuement et le Bâillement dans la Magie, VEthnographie, et le Folk-lore Médical, Paris, 1921.
2 This is not an exact translation of the term, but may be allowed to pass as such here (Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 56). [See Introd.]
3 Many early travellers give a favourable account of Hindu morals,
